Hemp breaking and cleaning machine.



J. HEANEY.

HEMP BREAKING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3|, I936.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESS.

J. HEANEY.

HEMP BREAKING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1916.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESS.

m: Nah-ms PEYERS co. Pnom mm; WASNING m". u "c JOHN HEANEY,

C1. FF.

0]? STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

HEMP BREAKING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

Application filed May 31, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN HEANEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, in the county of San Joaquin, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hemp Breaking and Cleaning Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for the handling of hemp, flax, ramie, or other fibrous stalks, the object of the invention being to produce a machine for breaking the straw and chafi away from the fiber in a rapid and efficient manner and thoroughly cleaning the same leaving the fiber entirely free for subsequent use.

I aim by means of my present invention to provide a continuous feeding mechanism which will feed the raw material against beater bars which will rapidly revolve against the raw material and beat the same and break up the straw and chaff so that it will readily separate from the fiber, the material after being so beaten and broken up passing over agrating where the straw and chaff will be separated from the fiber and the fiber will be thoroughly combed and passed onto a conveyer where it will be again treated or baled for use.

The invention also embodies certain other cooperating means for keeping the fiber from getting wound around the working parts of the machine or otherwise fouling the same, all of which will appear from the following description.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of one of the beater bars. Fig. l is a sec- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1616.

Serial No. 100,876.

tional view of the feed mechanism for feeding the raw material into the beater bars.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings,-the numeral 1 designates the main supporting frame of the device disposed on which is a feeding platform or table 2. This table projects to a point adjacent the feed roller structure, which structure consists of a pair of spaced vertical guides 3. Fixed in the lower ends of these guides 3 are bearings i turnable in which is a shaft 5 carrying a roller 6. Slidable in the upper ends of the guides 3 and movable against pressure springs 7 are bearings 8 in which is turnable a shaft 9 carrying a corrugated roller 10. On the shaft 5 is a sprocket wheel 11 and on the shaft 9 is a sprocket wheel 12.

The numeral 13 designates the main power pulley of the device which is driven by any suitable power and in turn drives a shaft 14: on which is a sprocket wheel 15. A chain 16 operates over the sprocket 15 and over the sprockets 11 and 12 and thence over a sprocket 17 mounted in a bearing 18. This bearing 18 is slidable in a guide 19 set at substantially right angles to one of the guides 3 and is continually pushed outwardly by means of the spring 20 in order that the chain 16 may be held taut when the bearings 8 move up and down against their springs 7.

Secured to the frame 1 in any suitable manner and projecting upwardly in front of the rollers 6 and 10 along their full length is a shield plate 21 provided with a slot 22 opening approximately in alinement with the space between the rollers 6 and 10. This slot 22 stops short of the ends of the plate 21 so that the ends of the rollers and their shafts and bearings may be shielded from any possibility of the hemp fiber backing up and becoming wound around the bearings which would cause them to become inoperative. Fixed along the lower edge of the slot 22 is a roller cleaner plate 23 which extends closely adjacent the roller 6 so as to feed the material through the slot 22 as it moves between the rollers 6 and 10 and prevents the fiber from winding around the said roller 6.

A shaft 24: is journaled on the frame 1 and secured to this shaft is a beater cylinder 25. On the surface of this cylinder 25 is a plurality of beater bars 26 which extend obliquely from the outer edges of the cylinder to the center thereof as shown clearly in Fig. 2, the inclination of these being away from the direction of the rotation of the cylinder 25. The purpose of this inclination of the beater bars 26 is to cause the material to be continually moved toward the center of the cylinder instead of toward the edges thereof in order to prevent the escape of the same from the edges of the cylinder and cause it to foul the machine. These beater bars are provided with teeth 27 for a purpose as will presently appear.

On the shaft 24 is a pulley 28 connected by a belt 29 with the power pulley 13 for the purpose of rotating the cylinder 25. YVith the rotation of the cylinder 25 the same moves the beater bars 26 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, which beater bars move immediately adjacent the edge of the roller plate 23. The raw material is fed along the platform 2 between the rollers 6 and 10. The corrugated roller 10 engages same and causes it to be continuously moved between the rollers 6 and 10 and over the roller plate 23 and through the slot 22. As it advances over the edge of the plate 23, the

beater bars 26 move rapidly against the same. This action cuts and breaks up the straw, chaff and other material and the fiber and broken straw and chaff is then drawn by such beater bars down into the cleaning or screening cylinder 30 which is provided with a plurality of cleaning holes 31. The teeth 27 continuously comb through the fiber and the inclination of the bars 26 tend to move the combed fiber toward the center of the cylinder. This combing'of the fiber and the moving of the same over the grating bars 31 causes the broken chaff and straw to screen out through the openings 30, while the fiber is continually combed and moved along over the grating bars 31 and onto a conveyer 32 from which it may be carried on to another machine for recleaning or for any other desired purpose. It is understood of course that the cylinder 25 moves in a very rapid manner.

Movable adjacent the beater bars 26 on the side of the machine opposite to the roller plate 23 is a conveyer 33 the slats 34 of which are provided with projecting teeth 35. This conveyer moves in the direction of the arrow Copies of this patent may be obtained for and the teeth 35 move closely adjacent the beater bars 26 so that if any of the fiber should cling to these bars, it will clean the same off of the same and cause it to be disposed upon the proper conveyer 32.

The spring pressed bearings 8 allow of vertical motion of the roller 10 and at the same time hold same closely in contact with the raw material so that it will be continuously moved through the rollers 6 and 10.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfils the object of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hemp breaking and cleaning machine comprising a feed mechanism, a beater cylinder cooperating with the feed mechanism, beater bars on the cylinder, such beater bars being inclined from their edges toward their centers in a reverse direction to the direction of travel of the cylinder, and a screen over which the beater bars move.

2. A hemp breaking and cleaning machine comprisingfeed rollers, a shield plate disposed in front of the rollers and provided with a slot terminating short of the ends of the rollers, a plate along the bottom edge of the slot, one edge of the plate extending closely adjacent the lower roller, a beater cylinder, beater bars on the cylinder operable closely adjacent such plate, such bars being provided with teeth and extending obliquely from their ends to their centers in the direction opposite the direction of movement of the cylinder, a cleaning cylinder disposed below the plate, the beater bars moving over the cleaning cylinder, a conveyer operable adjacent the cleaning cylinder and a cleaning conveyer operable adjacent the beater bars.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN HEANEY.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

